The Range fined over rat infestation at store

The Range in Hemel Hempstead now has a good food hygiene rating but admitted to hygiene failures in 2023

Retailer The Range has been fined £66,666 after a rat infestation at one of its branches.

Its parent company CDS Superstores International Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to comply with food hygiene legislation at a store in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire.

Dacorum Borough Council first received complaints from staff and customers about rats at Apsley Mills Retail Park in autumn 2023.

The Range, which now has a good food hygiene rating from the council, said: "The matter was dealt with immediately at local level, and we have reinforced our policies and procedures across all sites."

The council said its food and health safety team visited the store at the time, and worked with them to control "an infestation of rats".

Further visits showed the problem had persisted, with officers finding "substantial evidence of a rat infestation".

The store was temporarily prevented from selling food under a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Order "due to an imminent risk to health", the council said.

It added the order was lifted once the health risk had passed, with a certificate to confirm this issued on 1 February 2024.

"The Range was inspected on 27 June 2025 and given a rating of 4 out of 5, which means it was compliant at that time," the council said.

Staff and customers both reported seeing rats in the Hemel store in autumn 2023

The Range was prosecuted for failing to keep food premises clean and failing to have adequate procedures to control pests.

The company pleaded guilty to the charges and admitted the procedures they had put in place - including employing the services of a pest control company - had been inadequate.

It was fined at Luton Magistrates' Court on 25 September, and also ordered to pay £15,973 in costs and a victim surcharge.

A spokesperson for The Range said: "We take any report of pest activity extremely seriously.

"This was a localised issue, and while incidents of this nature are rare, it was wholly unacceptable and fell short of the standards we and our customers rightly expect.

"The health and safety of our customers and colleagues will always be our absolute priority, and we will not hesitate to take action wherever required."